# Chapter 182
“Have you been waiting here the whole time?”
At the surprised voice, Kang Dongha shook off his thoughts and noticed the man leaning against the car ahead. His glance toward the man was anything but friendly.
A rolling stone suddenly incorporated as a key figure in the Kang family.
Kang Taesung had previously lived a quiet life. After losing all his guardians and being entrusted to Naru, he had been inconspicuous and well-behaved. Even after gaining his extraordinary S-class ability and fame, he remained a normal person who never coveted Naru’s assets.
By Kang Dongying’s instructions, Dongha had clashed with him and provoked him a few times, finding that although Taesung had a terribly nasty temper, he was still within the bounds of normalcy.
However, with the emergence of Joo Lee Hwan from who-knows-where, Taesung’s demeanor had changed significantly.
“Nothing happened, right?”
Taesung asked in a voice so gentle it was nauseating, while his gaze was fixed on Kang Dongha. The chilly stare felt like frost forming in strands.
He was asking Dongha, not Joo Lee Hwan. Asking him to spill everything that had happened. Dongha inwardly shuddered.
‘So he puts trust in that nonsense about coming from the future.’
Before the situation changed, the last time he had met Kang Taesung was on New Year’s Day. The Chairman didn’t care who spent other holidays with whom, but every first day of the year, he summoned all family members and required their attendance.
Considering that Taesung had been normal when he briefly saw him then, he had changed in just about two months at most. Indeed, there wasn’t much else besides regression that could explain it.
Since then, Taesung had always been surrounded by an extremely dangerous atmosphere that seemed ready to explode at the slightest touch. Remembering he was an S-class Hunter, it was hardly different from placing a small nuclear bomb in the middle of the city.
Fortunately, there was one person who acted as a safety pin of sorts to keep him in check. Joo Lee Hwan approached him, stretched once, and shrugged as if nothing had happened.
Under his dense eyelashes, his brown eyes caught the sunlight, making even his pupils appear bright and transparent. Taesung’s eyes looking at him held a warm light, as if he were a completely different person from moments ago.
Kang Dongha watched the scene for a moment and gave a hollow laugh. Even if he hadn’t told them explicitly, Kang Dongying would soon have noticed their relationship. When Taesung’s gaze briefly returned to him as if expecting an answer, Dongha quickly surveyed their surroundings.
They were standing at the heart of Naru. Nothing could be more foolish than babbling about plans here.
“Go back. I’m going home too.”
He had already sent the USB containing the data with Lee Hwan. The rest of the conversation would be safer over video call.
“Take care.”
Only Joo Lee Hwan bothered to respond. Looking at that brazen, handsome face, Dongha thought that if his pre-regression self had met him, it would have been in a similar fashion.
‘I came from the future. To save you.’
If that’s what he claimed, what could he do but try to survive?
As the car carrying them drove away from the premises, Dongha composed his tense shoulders and headed toward the research building. It was time to enter that pit again.
Honestly, everything was still confusing. It had only been a few months since he was suddenly told about the future and his death while living a normal life.
There were many concerns about carrying out the plan based on anecdotes only he knew, but as if mocking his doubts, everything about the internal experiments—their existence, direction, goals, and even progress—was exactly as they had told him.
He had always prioritized his own well-being over family who were worse than strangers or abstract notions like world peace that didn’t resonate with him.
And he had grown up knowing that, in decisive moments, only he could save himself.
So this time too, Dongha would find a way to survive by sticking close to them.
As his future self had judged and chosen.
* * *
“There are three safe houses in total, two in Incheon and one in Busan. We only need to know their locations for now—we’ll only gather there if things become unsalvageable.”
Jade joined the video conference after a long absence. He had partnered with those once known as major players in the private loan market before financial real-name systems were implemented.
They were people who had secretly extended their reach into politics as well. There would be no reason for individuals with both ample money and connections to engage in meaningful exchanges with a mere former mercenary.
It seemed that the rumors spread in the underworld had finally yielded results. They had caught the scent and taken the bait.
“It will shake the country. There are many officials connected to Naru. Many will try to cover it up. However…”
“With both money and justification at stake, many will come running,” Lee Hwan replied, and the man on the right side of the screen nodded.
The Hunter Management Bureau, Praxis, several companies fighting over dividing the pie around the second-largest conglomerate, and the big players desperate to extract maximum profit from an economy that would temporarily collapse when everything broke out.
Especially those involved with money would eagerly tear Naru apart without even being asked. With even gate management delegated to the private sector now, the collapse of Naru, which had been expanding its empire with countless affiliates, was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Kang Dongha appeared uncomfortable but showed no attachment. After all, what did it matter how massive or intact the kingdom was if he was going to die unjustly without even a place to rest?
“Beolmae is waiting for the signal.”
“Hmm… Praxis needs more preparation. They seem to have manpower issues since they’re conducting two operations simultaneously.”
“It’ll take some time to prepare anyway, so that’s fine. It seems now is the perfect time to divert the drugs. The experiment direction has recently changed, making things a bit chaotic.”
The plan was steadily building up.
“Have you obtained access authorization for that area?”
“No. That’s why it needs to happen now. If the drugs disappear after I get authorization, they’ll know it was me. I’m a civilian, so the three of you will have to retrieve them.”
“I’ll go. Although the experiment has stopped, I still need to go to Building D occasionally for medical checkups. I roughly know the laboratory structure too.”
“Then let’s leave the diverted drugs in Kang Dongha’s office and move them when it’s safe. As for the security room records…”
Based on the plan Lee Hwan had established during the first regression, incorporating Taesung’s trial and error experiences, Jade and Dongha filled in the gaps in the means.
Seeing the progress proceeding faster and more surely than ever before, Taesung no longer considered Dongha’s existence a problem.
If they failed despite everything flowing so perfectly, then they were simply destined to die. The world would have collapsed no matter what they did, and a peaceful life with Taesung would have been a dream as unlikely as winning the lottery.
So he had no regrets. If they had to go, he only wished to die after Taesung this time.
Thud. Lee Hwan closed the laptop with a sound and wriggled onto the bed.
Recently, his condition had been optimal with good sleep and appetite. His under-eyes had only started to darken after several days of inadequate sleep, but just a day or two of good rest immediately improved his face—he was extremely fortunate to be an Awakened person.
After all, Lee Hwan still wanted to look good for Taesung. He didn’t want to wander around looking disheveled and ragged in front of him.
Knock knock.
At the crisp knocking sound, Lee Hwan stopped mid-yawn and quickly turned toward the door.
“Come in.”
As expected, it was Taesung who entered when the door opened. His hair covering his forehead was impeccably neat without a single strand out of place.
‘He must have fixed his hair.’
Does this guy also want to show only his best side to me? Watching him walk toward him and climb onto the bed, Lee Hwan grinned and wriggled backward to make room for another person to lie down.
“Did you go to training this morning?”
“Yeah. You knew?”
Instead of answering, Taesung interlaced their fingers, pulled Lee Hwan’s hand, and nuzzled the inside of his wrist with the tip of his nose. It seemed that the apple-like scent had remained again.
He had tried his best to use his ability as little as possible, believing that any remaining scent would have washed away in the shower.
Just as he was getting annoyed at the thought that he might never be able to enter gates except those suitable for hunting, Taesung suddenly bit his wrist gently.
“Hey, what are you suddenly…”
He’s not a teething puppy. As Lee Hwan was about to complain, he felt the sensation of soft lips moving against his skin and exhaled a long breath.
Since the confession, Taesung often did strange things. Kissing various parts of his body and rubbing his cheeks—Lee Hwan thought he was just like a child who had received a teddy bear as a Christmas gift.
Of course, both his intention and the sensation Lee Hwan was feeling now were far from childish behavior.
He was just grateful that Taesung wasn’t rushing things. Although he pretended to know everything in front of him, this was actually his first relationship that had started unexpectedly, and he didn’t know what to do.
Fortunately, Taesung seemed somewhat satisfied just by being close to Lee Hwan.
“Hmmm…”
As Lee Hwan let out a languid breath, he cupped Taesung’s cheek with his other hand and pulled him up. Then, thunk! He audibly bumped his forehead against Taesung’s.
Only after Taesung released his wrist did Lee Hwan chuckle and press his lips over Taesung’s. Whatever his intention was, he always seemed to be waiting for Lee Hwan to initiate kisses like this.
Maybe he had started things wrong.
A smile quickly spread across Taesung’s lips. Lee Hwan took Taesung’s arm and wrapped it around his own body, then crawled into his embrace.
At first, he was so embarrassed that he couldn’t even meet his eyes and felt like he would die of shame. But as the saying goes, late-learned thievery is the most frightening—after exchanging a few kisses as if on fire, such light contact became a form of therapy for him.
He comfortably nestled in the warm embrace, stretching out and rubbing his face against him until he was satisfied, inhaling his scent. The problem was that whenever Taesung responded by touching him, he would flinch and all sorts of thoughts would come to mind, but Taesung seemed perceptive enough to faithfully respect Lee Hwan’s hot pack therapy time from a certain point on.
“It’s coming soon.”
A low voice spoke, almost murmuring. Lee Hwan buried his head against the broad shoulder, feeling the emotion behind those words.
The memories of the past still surfaced chaotically when he was alone. At the end of the regression that had been both the cause of all those incidents and their opportunity, they were finally showing new progress.
Could this life really end with the happy ending he had so desperately wished for? Could he dream of livable days again, like the year when he first met Taesung?
If so, it might be okay to seriously consider a future with that guy, Kang Taesung.
‘When everything is over, I should stay home for at least 3-4 days.’
And enjoy peace by staying close to that guy.
He seemed to have heard somewhere that he shouldn’t set such flags. Thinking this, Lee Hwan let out a small laugh.
